There are't really any words I can say to capture how it feels to hear about the tragedy taking place in Haiti and feel so much farther away than usual. I'm not sure if that feeling is logical or not, considering I'm not from Haiti, but for whatever reason, being in Thailand changes the vibe.
Anyway, if you're looking for an organization to donate to, I highly recommend Partners In Health (PIH). Paul Farmer's organization is the subject of the famous book, "Mountains Beyond Mountains" and truly encapsulates best practices when it comes to public health and development work.
Thinking of the people in Haiti,
Ali
Ali, can I suggest you remind people to donate unrestricted funds, as opposed to those earmarked for Haiti? The infrastructure is beyond third-world. The amount of money is not the problem; they can't figure out ways to spend it, because they can't land planes or helicopters in the ruined sections of Port-au-Prince, where people are trapped. Earmarking donations handcuffs the ways it can be spent--Red Cross still has excess funds in its Asian-specific coffer from the tsunami.
ReplyDeleteBasically, aid organizations know better than we do where this money should be spent. Haiti will get the help it needs, but donating specifically to Haiti is simply a moral band-aid.